Hell Bent

Day Twenty Nine: Selma to Bend OR

We're packed up and on the road at 11. Once we get to the nearest place with cell phone service (Grant's Pass) we confirm that we can get the Girl in to see a mechanic tomorrow. It looks like we'll be spending a day in Bend.

Our ride is gorgeous. We're riding through wide, sunny valleys of farms nestled in green mountains. Since we've been out west, I've noticed that the mountains often remind me of the southern Appalachians, except out here, the edge where the mountain meets the sky looks serrated, like a Birch leaf, because of the abundant conifers. The edge of these southwestern Oregon mountains are softer, suggesting more deciduous trees.

We're on a series of lovely back roads, angling north east to get to Crater Lake national park. It's on the way, and it will make a great lunch spot. As we approach, it begins to get colder, though the sun it still out. We notice a patches of snow here and there. Then we're on pavement surrounded by 3 foot drifts. We've obviously gained some elevation. At the fee booth (my favorite) we show them our Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde receipts and get $39 knocked off an $80 unlimited national park pass. That'll come in handy if we go to Yellowstone or Mt. Rushmore. My Mom would be so proud!

Crater Lake is amazing. When we arrived, the water was so still that it was reflecting the sky, the clouds and the surrounding mountains perfectly. Crater Lake is essentially an enormous high sided bowl filled with clear, deep water. The deepest point is around 1900 feet (the elephant seals would not have even hit their stride yet). We plunk down on a rock wall that looks out onto the lake and have lunch. We busted out some garlic-y guacamole that had the other tourists intrigued. I guess most people don't travel with kitchen knives and cutting boards at the ready? There was so much snow on the ground that kids were having snowball fights and climbing huge snow mounds. We exchange picture taking with another couple, buy some postcards, and head to Bend.

It turns out that there is a reasonable hotel beside the motorcycle shop, so we book a room for 2 nights. This is so luxurious I can't even tell you. Usually, if we're lucky enough to have a hotel room at all, we have to high tail it out early in the morning. This will allow us to catch up on the blogging, get some rest, and get a feel for Bend. And, R Girl will be all spiffed up and ready for the ride back east. Bend is our farthest point west. We had hoped to get up to Seattle, but time and money aren't allowing. That will be another trip, we've already promised the Girl.